1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector for an optical fiber and a receiving or transmitting photoelement. The connector includes a planar holder on which the photoelement is secured along a reference axis coaxial with an end of the optical fiber. Such a connector is intended in particular for forming an optoelectronic interface at a receiving or transmitting end of an optical fiber in an optical fiber transmission system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At a receiving end of an optical fiber transmission system, a photoelement is located in a photoreceiver housing as a semi-conductive chip photodiode enclosed in a small air-tight casing secured to a holder in order to protect the photodiode from the air. The air-tight casing carries two air-tight through-sections in which electrical connections run to form photoreceiver terminals. An intermediate short optical fiber for coupling purposes with a fiber of the transmission system runs through the sections. The accuracy required in positioning an endface of a first end of the coupling fiber with respect to a photosensitive face on the photodiode is on the order of a micron; this is achieved inside the air-tight casing when manufactured. A second end of the coupling fiber is connected to an end of the transmission fiber in the transmission system by means of a known connector for two optical fibers or by fiber-to-fiber welding.
Such a connector has essentially two drawbacks:
the connection of the intermediate coupling fiber between the photodiode and the transmission fiber to be connected requires an air-tight conduit through a wall of the casing that is very tricky to produce, and
the coupling of the fiber in the transmission system with the photodiode requires a coupling optical fiber and hence at least one optical fiber connector thereby increasing the insertion losses in the transmission system and the cost of connecting line transmission fiber to the photoreceiver.